1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cassette lid opening and closing system for a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cassette lid opening and closing system for a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus, wherein the lid is fully open before seating a tape cassette and then is fully closed following seating of the tape cassette.
Korean Patent Application No. 93-14172 is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Magnetic recording and reproducing apparatuses such as video tape recorders (VTRs) have been developed in various forms. VTRs are now considered a very popular part in our daily lives. Demand is increasing as more and more homes find VTR's to be a staple item.
Generally, these magnetic recording and reproducing apparatuses utilize a 1/2 inch tape cassette which adopts a video home system (VHS) standard. The magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus often includes a cassette holder into which the tape cassette is inserted, driving members for internally pulling the cassette holder into a body of the apparatus and for seating it on a main deck, means for loading and unloading a magnetic tape within the tape cassette toward a rotary drum installed on the main deck, and means for moving the magnetic tape so as to permit travel along a predetermined path.
Once the tape cassette is inserted into the cassette holder, the insertion is sensed, e.g., by a cassette sensor, and the tape cassette is safely placed on the main deck. Then, the magnetic tape is loaded toward the rotary drum, which is rotating at high speed, by means of a pair of pole bases, to facilitate recording signals to or reproducing signals from the magnetic tape.
Motivated by a desire to increase users' convenience, a product, e.g., a portable camcorder developed by applying the principles by which the above-stated magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus has become smaller and lighter. Furthermore, in order to realize the lightest and smallest package possible, a product adopting an already-developed 8mm tape cassette is generally known to the public.
One factor greatly affecting the size and weight of the product is the deck size. The product can be smaller and lighter according to the rate at which the deck size can be scaled down. The technical level can be measured in view of the scaled-down rate of the deck size. In actual application, magnetic recording and reproducing apparatuses of various types have been studied and developed.
In order to maximally scale down the deck size while simplifying the components, the Applicants of this application filed Korean Patent Application No. 93-5016 on Mar. 29, 1993, relating to a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus. A corresponding application, International Application No. PCT/KR93/00026, was filed on Apr. 14, 1993, and laid open as Publication No. WO 93/21631 on Oct. 28, 1993. Thus, FIGS. 1A through 1C do not constitute prior art with respect to the instant application.
As shown in FIG. 1A through 1C, a tape cassette is inserted in a cassette holder provided with a rotary drum loading and is accomplished by first inserting a magnetic tape in a cassette holder which is then pressed to be closed, thereby fully-loading the magnetic tape with respect to the rotary drum. Here, the rotary drum is fully contained in the internal space of the tape cassette when the loading of the tape cassette is completed, allowing a very small deck size. The magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus will be schematically described in greater detail below.
FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C are views illustrating respective operational states of a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus. The ends of a pair of arms 10a formed by extending to the rear a portion of an eject lever 10 are respectively connected to shafts 11a on the ends of a pair of brackets 11 standing on the interior of a body (not shown) of the apparatus, so that, centered around the shafts 11a, up-and-down operations for opening and closing are carried out.
During an ejecting operation, the eject lever 10 is externally exposed by a predetermined angle with respect to the body while a locking pin 10b, provided on the front of the eject lever 10, is released so that a tape cassette 20 can be inserted into or pulled from the interior of the body. A pair of elastic members 12 are downwardly attached on the inner sides of the eject lever 10, permitting the upper surface of the tape cassette 20 to be pressed and preventing the tape cassette 20 from floating by means of the elastic members 12, while the pressing of the eject lever 10 is finished.
On one side of the arm 10a of the eject lever 10, a pin 10c is formed and fitted into an elongated hole 30b of a bracket 30a standing on the side of an upper chassis 30, thereby vertically moving the upper chassis 30 in the up-and-down directions while the eject lever 10 swings through a predetermined angle. On the inner side of the eject lever 10, a cassette holder 40 for accepting the tape cassette 20, and a slider 50 for horizontally moving the cassette holder 40 in back-and-forth directions are installed. The upper chassis 30 includes a rotary drum 31 and additional elements (not shown), for loading a magnetic tape (not shown) located within the tape cassette 20 during the horizontal movement of the slider 50.
One end of the cassette holder 40 is connected to the end of the slider 50 by means of a shaft 40a, and a first link 41, attached to the approximate center of the cassette holder 40, is connected by a pin 43 to a second link 42, which is slidably moved in an elongated hole 50b formed in a bracket 50a on one side of the slider 50. Therefore, the cassette holder 40 can swing through a predetermined angle about the shaft 40a to permit the insertion and extraction operations of the tape cassette 20.
On either side of the cassette holder 40, a lid-open member 44 is mounted to upwardly and downwardly swing around a shaft 44a, and an elongated hole 44b is formed around the center of the lid-open member 44 to accept guide pin 40b projecting on the side of the cassette holder 40. The center of the lid-open member 44 and the slider 50 are connected by a third link 45, which is inclined by a predetermined angle. The second and third links 42 and 45 are linked together by an elastic member 46.
Accordingly, during placing the cassette holder 40 on the slider 50, the lid-open member 44 swings around the shaft 44a so as to open a lid 20a of the tape cassette 20.
A reel base 51 is mounted on the slider 50, and a reel 53 is installed on the reel base 51 to guide a hub (not shown) of the tape cassette 20. The slider 50 can be moved horizontally, i.e., back and forth, by a slider moving apparatus (not shown) installed on the upper chassis 30.
A lower chassis 60 which supports respective traveling components (not shown) for driving the magnetic tape in the tape cassette 20 is installed beneath the lower portion of the upper chassis 30. The ends of the sides of the upper chassis 30 and lower chassis 60 are respectively connected by pins 60c in such a manner that a pair of fourth and fifth links 60a and 60b, to which the Scott Russel's link mechanism is applied, intersect each other.
An elastic member 61 is provided on a shaft 60d in the center of the fourth and fifth links 60a and 60b to hook the fourth and fifth links 60a and 60b. Therefore, the upper chassis 30 can be elastically moved up and down in a vertical direction.
In the magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus constructed as described above, after the tape cassette 20 is inserted into the cassette holder 40 placed on the inner side of the eject lever 10 and exposed by a predetermined angle to the body of the apparatus (refer to FIG. 1A), the cassette holder 40 is pressed to be closed. Subsequently, the cassette holder 40 swings around the shaft 40a and is placed on the slider 50. At this time, the hub of the tape cassette 20 is guided by the reel 53 installed on the slider 50. The movement of the lid-open member 44, formed on the side of the cassette holder 40, swinging clockwise about shaft 44a opens the lid 20a of the tape cassette 20.
When the cassette holder 40 is pushed toward the upper chassis 30, the slider moving apparatus (not shown) mounted on the upper chassis 30 horizontally moves the slider 50 toward the upper chassis 30 to perform the first loading operation of the magnetic tape with respect to the rotary drum 31, as shown in FIG. 1B.
As shown in FIG. 1C, once the eject lever 10 is pressed to be closed, the eject lever 10 downwardly moves around the shaft 11a and presses the elongated hole 30b of the upper chassis 30 inserted with the pin 10c, so that the upper chassis 30 is elastically and downwardly moved by means of the elastic member 61 installed on the fourth and fifth links 60a and 60b and is to be seated on the lower chassis 60. The locking pin 10b of the eject lever 10 is hooked to a locking device 100 provided on the lower chassis 60.
However, according to the above-described magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus, since the lid 20a is in an open state even after seating the tape cassette 20 on the lower chassis 60, the overall deck height is increased due to the projecting height H of the lid 20a, as shown in FIG. 1C, which hinders the miniaturization and lightening of the deck.